Clear Liquid Diet

When you eat a meal that is high in fat, the liver must work extra hard to try to provide enough bile to help you digest the fat. For these reasons, it’s very important to watch what you eat after gallbladder removal. Your body will eventually adjust and you will most likely be able to start eating food that you enjoy again but this can take months or even years.

your diet 24 hours post surgery

For the first 2-3 days after surgery you probably won’t be very hungry. Anesthesia can cause nausea and it is generally recommended that you stay on a clear liquid diet for 24 hours after surgery – until the anesthesia has cleared out of your system completely. Also, remember that although the outside of your body does not look very traumatized (if you had a laparoscopic surgery) your body did just go through trauma. Your organs are adjusting to the effects of the gas that was used during surgery as well as the fact that an organ was removed. A clear liquid diet means that you can pretty much eat anything you can see through.

• Water
• Broth
• Jello-O
• Fruity juice without pulp (apple, grape and cranberry juice)
• Clear Soda (Avoid Caffeine)
• Tea
• Popsicles (without bits of fruit)

foods to avoid

There are some foods that should be avoided after gallbladder surgery. Generally, any foods that gave you pain before surgery will need to be avoided. It will take awhile for your body to learn how to digest fats so you should stick to a low fat diet for at least a few weeks after surgery and reintroduce them very slowly. Dairy products and too much fiber can also cause problems. The BRAT diet (Bananas, Rice, Applesauce and Toast) should be avoided if you are having problems with constipation. However, if you are having diarrhea you may want to eat more of these food.

• Fried Food
• Dairy Products – especially cheese
• Peanut butter
• Greasy foods
• Raw Vegetables
• Caffeine
• Alcohol (especially if you are on pain pill)